Hindsight is 20-20
by Sanjuno Shori Niko
Summary: Rather than allow Cid Highwind to die, CHAOS breaks Time asunder. Now returned to a past long thought lost, Cid and Vincent have the chance to change things. What could go wrong? After all, they do have the benefit of hindsight...
1. CHAOS Effect

**_Hindsight is 20/20_**  
 _A Final Fantasy VII Fanfiction_  
Author: Sanjuno Shori Niko

=/=

 **(In which the CHAOS factor takes effect.)**

Cid Highwind was forty-eight years old.

A genius pilot and an engineer without peer, he had reached for the stars and caught them in his own two hands. The sky was no limit for him. Cid was tough, and smarter than about ninety percent of the population, and everything that he had he worked hard for, he earned every single thing he owned. Captain Highwind cussed like a sailor and smoked like a chimney and drank tea with manners that would make the sourest mother-in-law clench in envy. People who really ought to have known better followed him without thinking twice about it, and people who did think twice about it gave in after enough yelling. He had helped save the world two or three times depending on how you tallied it up. His name was a living legend.

Cid Highwind was forty-eight years old, and a terminal patient in the long-term care wing of Healin' Lodge.

Cid Highwind was also sick to death of being coddled like a damn baby. He had incurable necrosis of the lungs, not brain cell atrophy.

"Vincent." Cid levelled his permanent visitor with a determined look. "I wanna go out."

"Cid, the doctors said that you should take it easy." Vincent was not saying no, just reminding Cid of the professional opinion.

"Fuck 'em." Cid rarely bothered with extra words these days, finding it hard enough to breath. Vincent missed the rants, if only because hearing Cid yell would mean his body was as healthy as the blond man's temper. Hojo's final revenge had been a deadly pathogen released inside of his labs, targeted at anyone who would be inclined to investigate after his death. Cid was not the only member of AVALANCHE living at the Lodge. "I wanna see sky. Please, Vincent."

"Very well." Vincent sighed and shut down the monitors to avoid any alarms alerting the staff to their excursion. It was killing Cid to be cooped up here, surrounded but white walls and pity, treated like a child who could not make his own choices. Vincent never thought twice about complying with Cid's requests as the man rarely asked for anything more than to be taken outside. It was not the first time they had snuck out like this, though the frequency had dropped as Cid's condition worsened.

The air outside was crisp and fresh, carrying hints of salt from the nearby sea. Cid sighed happily as Vincent carried him out on to the balcony and launched them both into the sky on Chaos' borrowed wings. These secret flights were the only times Vincent saw the familiar spark of life return to Cid's sky-blue eyes.

"It's beautiful…" Cid sighed, eyes sliding shut as he sank into Vincent's arms. "Thanks, Vincent."

"Anything for you, Chief." Vincent tightened his grip, swallowing back sorrow and rage.

Cid stopped breathing.

Grieving agony sliced through Vincent's soul, followed by equally painful relief when Cid gasped and shuddered, chest hitching as he struggled for breath.

"Easy, Chief." Vincent banked as gently as possible, not wanting to jar his passenger and shock Cid's lungs into seizing, but hurrying back to the Lodge as best he could. "Just breathe."

"Vincent…" Cid's voice was thin and pleading, his eyes full of pain as his body betrayed him.

' **He's dying!'**

' _No, not Cid. Please spirits, not Cid.'_

' **Fool!'** With a growl, Chaos ripped control of the body from Vincent and completed the change from man to demon. **'I will not let this one die!'**

Now where was it? Ah. There.

The world spun around the pair as the demon turned on a wingtip and shot forward, faster than mere muscle could account for. Invisible to human vision but glowing brightly to demon senses was Chaos' goal. A casual blast from the hovering anthromorphic personification of a cosmic force unearthed the flow of the Lifestream. It swirled strangely at this point, a nexus of converging lines rather than the usual smooth swell, and Chaos eyed the glowing eddies with satisfaction.

Not perfect – perfect would be too much to ask – but it would do. It would do very well for what Chaos had in mind. The shadow at the back of Chao's mind that was Vincent's more human side caught a hint of what Chaos planned to do and struggled for ascendance. _'Are you insane? What if it doesn't work?'_

"… Vincent." Crimson spotted bloodless lips as the wind tore the thin whisper of Cid's voice away. Objection died, and single-minded determination was all that remained in its wake.

Chaos folded his wings around them both, the self-that-was-Vincent moving to put his will behind Chaos' power as they fell from the sky and into the glowing whirlpool. The swirling up-well of mystic forces created by Chaos erupted into a geyser of light.

The world ground to a stop.

/…/

 **JENOVA Project File No. 12**

 _Dr. Crescent's genome has completely absorbed the Cetra cells. Mako infusion increasing by 5%._

 **JENOVA Project File No. 15**

 _Specimen CC (Crescent/Cetra hybrid) has reached a physical maturation point. Mako levels stabilized at 69%. Anticipate removal from growth chamber within the week._

=/=

Every fixit fic author eventually utilizes the time travel trope. This is me, doing that thing I just mentioned.


	2. Fate laughs when Men make plans

If gender identity issues trigger you, be aware that things happen in this fic that may hit you the wrong way.

=/=

 **(In which the Norns have a sense of humour.)**

 **JENOVA Project File No. 22**

 _Removal of Specimen CC delayed by power surge. Electrical storm caused damage necessitating recalibration of priority equipment. Specimen CC shows no signs of complications. Neurological activity has increased by 34%._

/…/

So this was what being dead feels like. It was nice, a peaceful, floating sort of feeling. Really quite a soothing effect, if you liked that kind of thing.

Boring as hell in Cid's expert, and not-at-all biased, opinion.

Cid really needed to stop tempting the Fates. The Norns could be vindictive little bitches when they wanted to be.

Sure enough, the peace was soon disturbed further as Cid was very rudely hauled out of his quiet little bubble into his own personal hell. Lungs fighting for air – Gods, there were no words to describe how much Cid hated that feeling – and liquid was expelled from his lungs in heaves, helped along by someone performing professional compressions on his back.

Ugh. Whatever that shit was it tasted disgusting. Cid blinked, expecting blood thanks to the sour-copper sting lingering at the back of his throat, but the green glow of processed mako puddled in front of his nose instead. The fuck was this nonsense?

That was when Cid noticed several things at once, his brain kicking into high gear now that it was no longer preoccupied with establishing a breathing rhythm. He was naked, the metal floor was cold, and people were talking.

"She's performing respirations on her own. Excellent!" The male voice was vaguely familiar. Like Cid _should_ recognize it, but… it was hard to track things properly. There was a green haze overlaying his vision, and his ears had that pressurized feeling that made everything sound far away. Mako. There was mako in his ears, and it was probably in his eyes too. What the hell was going on?

Cid tried to push himself up in order to find the nearest target and _shake_ until they gave him some answers about what the fuck had happened, but ended up flopping ungracefully on to his back instead. That was less than intimidating. His body refused to cooperate with him.

Fighting back panic through sheer bull-headed grit, Cid blinked the sting of mako out of his eyes. Stared for a long moment at the figures standing over his, taking the time to process what he was seeing. There was a dead man looking down at Cid with the most frighteningly greedy expression Cid had ever seen aimed in his direction.

"She's _perfect_." A woman wearing a lab coat knelt down on the floor, her long hair tied up with long ribbons. She was careful not to touch the mako as she started rattling off numbers, her gloved hands disturbingly impersonal as she took Cid's vitals. There was an assistant standing to the side taking a record. The woman's hands were cold, and Cid wanted her to stop touching him. Somehow, Cid felt like he should recognize her, but mostly he just wanted to get away. The woman stood up, beaming down at Cid before turning to Hojo. "Her vitals are extraordinary! Should we proceed?"

"Of course. Harvest what we need." Hojo stepped aside as two blank-faced men stepped forward and lifted Cid off the metal grating and on to a gurney. Cid's head flopped forward when he was picked up, and that was when Cid noticed that he had tits.

What. The. Fuck.

Whoever designed hell was obviously a _lot_ more imaginative than previously considered. Apparently fire and brimstone were _far_ too common for Captain Highwind. No, let us turn him into a _chick instead_. Fucking shit.

/…/

 **JENOVA Project File No. 24**

 _Specimen CC removed from growth tank. Subject proceeded to maintain self-regulation of vital functions without the aid of support machinery. Will continue to monitor subject's vital functions for signs of degradations._

 _Subject presents as an adult female of North Continent Ancestry. Indications of basic neural impulses are present, but Subject as yet falls short of actual self-awareness. Muscle reflexes and physiological responses present at 14% above maximum range for the primary donor genome._

 **JENOVA Project File No. 25**

 _Specimen CC differs from Dr. Crescent's (primary genetic donor) expressive phenotype. CC appears to lack melanin count possessed by Dr. Crescent, resulting in differences in pigmentation. CC displays signs of near albinism (blonde/blue expression.) Full examination revealed extensive skeletal differences from Dr. Crescent. CC exhibits greater bone density and tensile strength in addition to an extended motion range and broader frame. CC is 179cm, while Crescent is 162cm – this is perhaps the effect of JENOVA on the subject._

 _Will continue to monitor subject for signs of degenerative Green Syndrome._

=/=

I warned you all that this was not the usual Time Travel fixit.


End file.
